The Voices in Your Head: Trusting Your Intuition

“How can I be sure it’s not just my ego thinking it knows what’s “best” for me?”

Turning points, decision-making, and listening are such an integral part of life. We make decisions every day. Regular or decaf. Highway or scenic route. Go out on the town or stay in and read a book.

Day-to-day decisions like these may feel almost effortless for you. Why? Because you can somewhat anticipate the probable outcome. While nothing in life is ever certain or fixed, some things do have more predictability to them.

Intuition is a soft undertone that requires receptivity to truly hear it, trust it, and act on it.

You know how you will feel with a cup of caffeinated joe running through your system, and you know how you’ll feel without it. You can feel into whether you are in the mood to hang out with friends, or if you need some time to yourself.

So when you receive the well-intended decision-making advice from your friends to “just trust your intuition,” why does it feel like they just told you to go climb Mt. Everest?

Because tuning into your intuition is much more subtle—and often uncertain. It doesn’t always come wrapped in a neat package we know and trust. Intuition is a soft undertone that requires receptivity to truly hear it, trust it, and act on it. It is an art. Luckily, it is an art that can be taught and refined.

How? Let’s take a look at 4 keys to keep in mind when you are learning how to tune into and refine your intuition.

The 4 Cornerstones of Trusting Your Intuition:

1. Intuition is not emotional, nor is it rational.

Intuition doesn’t come through in a heat of rage or explosive emotional impulse; nor does it come through from carefully, well-thought-out planning. Intuition is the voice that says from a clear, unattached place, “I have no idea why, but this is what I need to do.”

Next time you are seeking clarity on whether the guidance you are receiving is your intuition, check in with yourself and ask yourself two questions:

“Am I overthinking this?”

“Am I emotionally triggered right now?”

Often we are quick to assume we are getting an “intuitive hit” to act on an impulse without checking in to make sure we are clear headed and emotionally centered. Our thoughts and our emotions often speak much louder than our intuition, so it is easy to confuse them.

If you aren’t sure, give it time. My rule of thumb is to wait 3 days before acting on any major decisions or “intuitive impulses” whenever possible. This gives me plenty of time to allow my thoughts and emotions to settle.

2. Intuition is a voiceless voice.

Intuition is quiet. You must get quiet to hear it. Intuition is the silence within that contains the wisdom of your soul’s journey. Intuition may come in the form of a silent whisper, or a silent scream. Either way, it requires inner stillness to hear its message.

How do you get to a quiet place within so you can hear these messages clearly—and on a consistent basis? In my experience, it’s not simply one thing that does it. It’s a lifestyle, a way of being, a way of showing up in the world.

For those of you who are newer to this concept, meditation is a great start. If you are more advanced, getting quiet is still rooted in a consistent meditation practice, but is also paralleled with living in a way that enhances your light and increases your awareness so you are more in tune with the subtleties of life. It’s being in the world in a way where your inner stillness remains unmoved, regardless of what’s happening around you.

I can hear a few of you thinking, “What if it doesn’t feel like anything? What if it’s just a thought? Or an idea?”

Even if your intuition is led by a silent voice in your mind’s eye, listen to your body wisdom as well. See if this voice, this wisdom, is showing up as a feeling or sensation anywhere in your body. Often when you stop to listen, it’s amazing what you will actually hear—and what sensations might come with it.

How do you increase your ability to tap into embodiment? Art of Feminine Presence is an amazing tool I recommend to everyone who is interested in developing greater levels of Self-awareness, confidence, and a tangible, palpable experience of the Divine. This is a great way to begin to ground deep into your body. Be sure to sign up if you are specifically interested in learning more about this body of work.

4. Intuition moves from spirit, not ego.

This one is subtle; it requires a deep inner silence and non-attachment to the outcome. It requires a deep letting go of what you think should happen to make room for what is.

To truly hear your intuition, you must be willing to let go of your attachment to hear only what you want to hear.

Intuition requires a deep letting go of what you think should happen to make room for what is.

There is even another subtlety here that goes by the name of “spiritual ego.” It’s a persona wardrobe that many of us on a spiritual path inadvertently put on at times. The spiritual ego has many coats and colors—all of which are quite fashionable to their spiritual comrade.

We wear these cloaks that wrap enlightenment and spirituality up in these neat little packages containing an entire range of “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” based on the spiritual truths we’ve read about in books.

“We’re all one, so ___ is the real answer” or “That’s not really that important” or “Desire isn’t spiritual.” And on it goes.

Spiritual ego is a way of recreating our identity to match our spiritual ideologies, yet doesn’t actually allow the space to go beyond those identities.

In what ways does spiritual ego show up for you? In what ways can you begin to let go of your identities to make room for the truth of who you are, which goes beyond all identity?

Now it’s your turn. Share your insights in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!

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